A 25-year-old man from Doolittle was killed Thursday afternoon when his motorcycle crashed on Highway D near the tiny community of Jerome, just before 4 p.m., after investigators say he took a curve too fast and slammed into an SUV. The SUV’s driver was not hurt.
According to KY3, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported that the rider "went too fast into a turn and entered the wrong lane" before the collision. The station also noted that he was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash and that this marks Troop I’s fourth traffic fatality so far in 2026.
Troop I jurisdiction and response
Troop I, based in Rolla, investigates crashes across six counties in south-central Missouri, including Phelps County, where Jerome is located. Per the Missouri State Highway Patrol, those counties are Crawford, Dent, Laclede, Maries, Phelps and Pulaski. The troop’s webpage also provides contact information and a portal for requesting official crash reports.
Speed, curves and rider safety
National traffic data consistently show that motorcycles account for a disproportionate share of roadway deaths and that many fatal wrecks happen on non-interstate roads and on curves, just like Highway D. In NHTSA’s Traffic Safety Facts: Motorcycles (using 2022 data), federal officials report that motorcyclists made up roughly 15% of all U.S. traffic fatalities that year, and that their death rate per vehicle miles traveled is far higher than for passenger cars, underscoring how vulnerable riders are on smaller roads.
Troopers are still investigating the Highway D collision. Crash records and report requests are handled through the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Troop I office, which posts contact and records-request details online. Initial information on the incident was first reported by KY3.
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